Impact of Unitization on the Behavior and Attitudes of Teachers: A Cross-Sectional Replication of the Meyer and Cohen Study.

Jovick, Thomas; Milich, Robyn

Several years ago a group of researchers at the Stanford Research and Development Center conducted an investigation exploring team organization in elementary schools and its consequences for individual autonomy, collective control of the work setting, and job satisfaction. The findings of that study, known as the Meyer and Cohen study, were sufficiently challenging, and in certain respects surprising, to warrant intensive, longitudinal investigation. During the longitudinal study, the MITT Project (Management Implications of Team Teaching), it was possible to use the initial data returns to attempt to replicate the original Meyer and Cohen study without waiting for the through-time results. Some important causal relationships suggested by the original study were confirmed, notably that extensive work collaboration curtailed the individual teacher's sense of control over his/her own work. The most significant discrepancy to arise from the replication effort was an indication that unitization was a multidimensional rather than undimensional variable. Work collaboration did not operate alone to effect an alteration in teacher attitudes. (JMF)